When designing their new home, homeowners are increasingly demanding the integration of environmentally conscious products into their home construction. Sustainability is a desired feature, because not only do they add beauty, they reduce a home’s carbon footprint. When it comes to your home’s design, consider some of these green home features:

Solar Panels: Solar panel popularity is multi-faceted: Solar power installation can save you money, increase the value of your property and be a great investment that also helps the environment.

Flooring: When choosing your flooring, opt for natural, renewable, or recycled flooring sources. For example, bamboo flooring is a grass which, unlike trees, can be harvested every five years. Another option is floor panels. Look for floor panels which conform to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Standard, which promotes responsible forestland management in North America.

Cabinetry: Green cabinetry that is certified by the KCMA environmental stewardship program assures you that stringent requirements for process resource management, air quality, community relations, and environmental stewardship have been met.

For more ideas about building a greener home, contact us at Trilogy Partners.

Trilogy Partners possesses both the skill and the experience needed to build you your dream home. However, having a home built is a significant commitment of resources, which is why we recommend green home building practices. Not only is it good for the environment, it’s also good for your wallet.

Consider these financial benefits of living in a green home:

• Green homes are built to be energy-efficient, meaning that they can either be heated or cooled using the least amount of energy possible while still maintaining a comfortable living space. Although the savings may not seem impressive to homeowners in the short run, they can build up to big sums over time.

• Similarly, green homes show the same efficiency when it comes to the usage of water both indoors and outdoors. This results in similar savings when it comes to water bills.

• Green homes are predicted to become more and more popular over time. At the moment, 60 percent of consumers show interest in green home amenities, which has translated to a 9 percent increase in value for homes with some kind of green certification in places like California.

Please contact us to speak about other green home benefits.

If you’re renovating the home, you have a lot of building material options available for use. Consider the following materials to add a beautiful, unique look to your dream home:

• Limestone can make your home’s walls stand out. By texturing the limestone, you will be able to accentuate the shadows, giving your wall a dramatic effect. This texturing will visually soften the hard material, giving your home an elegant, inviting look.

• If you are looking to style up the shelves in your home, you can use a patinated aluminum material that features a spiderweb pattern. This will give your shelves a bold look, making it enjoyable every time you go to grab your socks or clothes. To vary the spider web patterns, the horizontal pieces can be flipped.

• For a truly bold look, you can combine different materials together, such as round glass tiles, terrazzo and wood slats. The contrast can add a lot of intrigue.

For more information on these kinds of building materials, contact us today.

If you’re a nature lover, chances are that you often look for ways to imbue your interior design with flourishes of the outdoors. And that means more than snipping a bloom from your backyard and putting it in a colorful glass.

For starters, don’t overlook the influence of paint, especially green in hues of olive, lime, or emerald. Even without a full wall to spare, you can create a fetching outdoor scene by painting the back wall of a cabinet and decorating the shelves with potted flowers, shells, or garden instruments. Thematic pieces will speak volumes about your interests and personality.

But don’t stop there. Consider dotting your indoor landscape with:

• Floral prints on throw pillows that can be tossed as easily on couches and chairs as the floor.

• Tabletop displays of thick, lush leaves tucked inside cylindrical vases.

• Framed botanical prints surrounded by pieces that mimic the background of the prints. For example, if a favored bird print features white lilies in the background, arrange a vase of faux lilies next to the print for undeniable visual interest.

For assistance in integrating the soothing influence of nature in your interior design, call Trilogy Partners, Colorado’s premier custom design company.

Zero-carbon buildings are buildings that produce no net carbon emissions. In short, these buildings produce carbon emissions because of their occupants, but the emissions are offset using methods ranging from reforestation to carbon credits, or even investments in renewable energy.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Please consider the economic benefits of zero-carbon buildings:

• Since zero-carbon buildings are better insulated than their conventional counterparts, their occupants are better-shielded against changes in the price of energy.

• Furthermore, operation becomes less expensive for occupants because zero-carbon buildings are so much more efficient. Over time, even small savings can build up into big sums.

• Superior insulation results in even distribution of heat, which leads to a more comfortable environment.

• Zero-carbon buildings are more in demand on the real estate market, meaning that their owners can resell them at a profit. Additionally, these buildings are becoming more and more popular as regulators move on the issue, meaning that their value is continuing to rise.

• Although a skilled and experienced firm such as Trilogy can refit buildings for outstanding performance, it is more cost-efficient to build zero-carbon buildings from the ground up rather than refitting older buildings for the same results.

For more information on zero-carbon buildings, please contact us at Trilogy Partners.

Mountain home style designs often have a specific aesthetic value. Big albeit simple gable roofs imitate the shape of mountains while at the same time shedding snow and rain. Huge, tree-like timbers are normally used to hold up these roofs. All of the aforementioned rest on local stone constructed into chimneys, plinths, and foundations. Metal plates and anchors connecting those elements have a scale and heft to match the surroundings.

Source: Trilogy Partners

• Gable Roofs – Big and plain gable roofs allow homes to reflect a wide landscape of mountains and trees as well as provide shelter.

• Stones – Stone plinths, a stone base and stone chimney secure the mountain home style design to its site despite the fact that the roof is supported on all the tree-like poles.

• Metal Roofs – Choose a metal roof that looks akin to a tent, stretched taut over the simple pole structure. This gives your mountain home a more sophisticated look.

• Large Glass Doors – Large stretches of glass keep your home interior bright and light while at the same time, confining your home’s best views.

Contact us for information about hiring a professional to help you refurbish or construct your mountain home style design.

After building your Colorado dream home, odds are you have leftover building materials you may not know how to properly dispose of. Here are some tips on what to do with your remaining materials:

• Tiles – Tiles can be used as coasters or broken up to be used as decorative wall mosaics. Use them in your garden as pathways or flowerbed borders. To dispose of them, place an ad on Craigslist or donate them to a local school, non-profit organization, or salvage yard.

• Bricks – Use your leftover bricks to build a firepit or an outdoor barbeque. If you can’t use them, call local bricklayers or landscapers or donate them to Habitat for Humanity.

• Wood – Scrap wood has endless uses. Build a bookshelf, a birdhouse, or get creative with rustic furniture frames. Your leftover wood can even be recycled and used for soil enhancement.

• Paint – You can always cover your paint can and use it later, or you can use it now to touch up old furniture. Check your states’ laws to dispose of your paint properly.

Contact us to learn more about what do with your leftover building materials as well as other tips for sustainable building and custom home design.

We’re committed to helping our clients develop a style that includes as many green home design elements as possible. Some things are simply good old-fashioned common sense, like turning off lights when leaving a room and taking advantage of natural lighting. The mantra “reduce, reuse, recycle” is perfect for reminding us to lighten our carbon footsteps on our fragile earth.

Get creative with decorating by visiting flea markets and antique shops to look at old objects with a new eye to their purpose. Old glass bottles can turn into unique tiles, scrap metal can be re-purposed into wall panels for an industrial vibe, weathered wood can become flooring or a tabletop depending on your needs.

Conserving water is especially necessary these days. Using rain chains and barrels to divert and store rainwater for use later in the home and garden is a good way to conserve resources. Bring the green inside, as plants are natural air purifiers and make a lush background in your home. You can also save money at the grocery store by planting an indoor herb garden and growing veggies in window boxes.

Trilogy’s integrated design and build process makes living green in Colorado a sustainable lifestyle. Contact us for more information.

The addition of natural materials is an excellent way to tie the interior décor of a home with its outdoor spaces and its setting. The neutral colors and textures of these materials make for a subtle but beautiful transition. Here are a few ideas to help you accomplish this goal:

Source: Trilogy Partners’ Portfolio

• Reclaimed Wood Floors: The repurposing of old wood into flooring is beneficial in two ways. It adds a dramatic aesthetic element to your home and also helps preserve the natural environment.

• Natural Stone: There is a natural stone to fit any décor from traditional to contemporary. In addition, they are suitable for any room from counters in the kitchen through the fireplace in the family room to the walls and floor of the bathroom.

• Sisal Window-Treatments: Usually seen in rugs, this natural material has gained a lot of popularity with interior designers in the last few years. It is soft, durable and available in a wide variety of colors and styles.

For more information on this and other green building topics, please contact us at Trilogy Partners.

Source: Trilogy Partners

Homeowners are considering the impact they have on the Earth. Whether building a home or thinking about a renovation, you can make a conscious effort to use green building materials that do everything from conserving nonrenewable resources to being more energy-efficient. Trilogy is a believer in sustainability, and recommends these green building materials.

• Bamboo. The fastest growing grass in the world is biodegradable and offers a sturdy, solid option that can be used both indoors and outdoors. Research also shows that bamboo releases a high concentration of oxygen into the atmosphere.
• Composite Decking. Resistant to stain and mold, this option is green-friendly. First, it’s made with reclaimed and recycled materials, which helps to save the trees. Second, it’s long-lasting.
• Eco Paint. Homeowners who are concerned about volatile organic compounds can opt for eco paint, which is known for having low concentration of that harmful stuff. Plus, the air quality in your house will improve.
• Reclaimed Lumber. Save the forests by using sustainable timber made with salvaged wood.
• Recycled Glass. Glass scraps from beer bottles, glasses and other objects receive new life as counters, backsplashes and other additions.

Stay tuned on the latest green building trends from Trilogy.